I believe this was actually one of there more successful subliminal tactics to include all these substances under the former pejorative term (dope), thereby alluding that cannabis has the same or similar negative characteristics. As well as enhancing their perceived importance as providing a benefit to society.
Funny how 'dope' now has become an adjective with a very positive meaning in the current/younger cultural vernacular. As in da chit.

There is considerable speculation about the origin of the word, however in this country it definitley has a pejorative side to it as noted by Harborside HC in the op.
According to this source from the Shaffer Library of Drug Policy:
The earliest record of man's use of cannabis comes from the island of Taiwan located off the coast of mainland China. In this densely populated part of the world, archaeologists have unearthed an ancient village site dating back over 10,000 years to the Stone Age. 嘛 Ma, the Chinese word for hemp, is composed of two symbols which are meant to depict hemp. The part beneath and to the right of the straight lines represent hemp fibers dangling from a rack. The horizontal and vertical lines represent the home in which they were drying.

Wow:
Cadillac News
Dispensary owner faces life on drug, ammunition charges
By Rick Charmoli
CADILLAC — A 51-year-old Cadillac man who is running for Haring Township trustee was charged in 84th District Court Tuesday for illegally selling marijuana out of his dispensary business and home as well as a weapons-related charge.
Donald Joseph Koshmider II was charged with one count of possession of ammunition by a felon; two counts of delivery/manufacture of marijuana; two counts of conspiracy to commit delivery/manufacture of marijuana; two counts of maintaining a drug house; and possession of marijuana for his alleged role in incidents occurring between April 21 and July 11 in Haring Township.
A habitual offender, fourth offense notice was added to the charges, which means Koshmider faces up to life in prison if he is convicted, because the ammunition charge carries a penalty of up to five years.
The Traverse Narcotics Team served two search warrants Monday after it gathered evidence alleging Koshmider was illegally selling marijuana out of the Best Cadillac Provisions dispensary on Plett Road in Haring Township. According to a TNT press release, the dispensary was operating illegally and outside the boundaries of the Michigan Marijuana Act, which permits a caregiver to sell to only a handful of registered patients.
The Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 2008, allows licensed medical marijuana caregivers to grow a limited amount of marijuana for each of five patients, or for six people if the caregiver also is a medical marijuana patient. Operators of medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan could face prosecution for serving more customers than allowed by law.
This wasn’t the first time the dispensary was investigated by TNT. In 2014, Best Cadillac Provisions and several other dispensaries in the county were raided by TNT and instructed to quit illegally selling marijuana. Search warrants were executed in July 2014 at five dispensaries including Best Cadillac Provisions.
Best Cadillac Provisions has been located in Haring Township since January 2014. However, dispensaries were required to stop selling marijuana after a Michigan Supreme Court decision and a “legal moratorium” by Wexford County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Badovinac.
In September 2014, Haring Township approved a temporary marijuana moratorium. In September 2015, the township board approved a medical marijuana ordinance that officially put on the township’s ordinance books that medical marijuana dispensaries are not permitted.
During Monday’s search, a 23-year-old Manton man also was arrested for possession of marijuana. TNT also conducted a simultaneous search at Koshmider’s Haring Township residence. The execution of both search warrants revealed measurable amounts of processed marijuana, two grow operations and paraphernalia.
A $20,000 cash or surety bond was issued, and as a condition of bond, Koshmider is to not consume any illegal drugs and most submit to random testing.

...another fascinating take on the theory of what money is, from a 2011 book called 'Debt: The First 5000 Years'. It proposes that before there was 'money' or currencies there was debt.
Furthermore: "A major argument of the book is that the imprecise, informal, community-building indebtedness of 'human economies' is only replaced by mathematically precise, firmly enforced debts, through the introduction of violence, usually state-sponsored violence in some form of military or police."
The Author also proposes a concept of "everyday communism" which he defines, when analysing peasant lives as "The peasants" visions of communistic brotherhood did not come out of nowhere. They were rooted in real daily experience: of the maintenance of common fields and forests, of everyday cooperation and neighborly solidarity. It is out of such homely experience of everyday communism that grand mythic visions are always built." Also "Society was rooted above in the "love and amity" of friends and kin, and it found expression in all those forms of everyday communism (helping neighbors with chores, providing milk or cheese for old widows) that were seen to flow from it."

Andrew Jacksons: School of Economics or the original 'Trump University'
This was really more of a gimmick than balancing the budget. He used the sale of Western Land owned by the Federal Government along with a lack of Federal Funding for infrastructure to pay off the debt. In fact they were actually producing a profit albeit for a short while. Unfortunately there was nowhere to put it as he had already pulled the plug on the 2nd Bank of the US, so he decided to divide it between the states. This caused the State Banks to go a little crazy and stimulated speculation as these banks operated under looser lending procedures than the Federal Bank had. Soon the combined debt of the State Banks had climbed to twice the previous total of the national debt. Through more of his inept decisions this soon led to the Panic of 1837.
Basically AJ was a naive buffoon and up there as one of the worst Presidents we've had. Thomas Jefferson author of the Declaration of Independace, the Virginia Statute of Religous Freedom and Founder of the University of Virginia said, "He is the most unfit man to be President." Sound familiar?
Some of his other infamous accomplishments: the Removal of the Cherokee Indians from the South Eastern US known as the Trail of Tears .
His 'spoils system' where he replaced experienced politicians with illiterate farmers with little or no experience.
...and more. Quite a price to pay to have this epitaph...

Root (?) noun
2. the basic cause, source, or origin of something.
"love of money is the root of all evil"
synonyms: source, origin, germ, beginning(s), genesis;
cause, reason, basis, foundation, bottom,seat;
core, heart, nub, essence;
informal ground zero
"the root of the problem"
There are very few countries (really only one) on the planet that has not suffered the dominating effects of Colonialism. Even they had to fight several wars (with, guess who?) to maintain this status as well as give up some territory.
Perhaps this might have something to do with your assertion?
Can you guess which country?

A Rose by any other name still smells like a rose... LikeWise my favorite buds by any other name still smell like a skunk! ...and I do miss 'em. Also Im pretty sure we're talking about 'White Supremacy' here. This was the underlying premise this country was founded on.
As the Civil Rights movement garnered momentum back in the 60's a new Battle Line was drawn. We saw its start in Detroit in the 1950s as the Big 4, culminating in the 1967 Riots then to counter this unfortunate reaction was born SWAT teams. As Civil Rights were given some ground a new Battle line was drawn, the one we are all too familiar with: The War on Drugs. How about a new Militia too: we'll call it the DEA.
As this battle became more entrenched it began to grow tentacles. Infiltrating our former Peace Officers and Militarizing them into what we see today in MI as the no less than 20 specialized Drug Enforcement units known by such acronyms as FANG, BAYANET, HUNT, STING, DRANO, TNT, etc.
We need to understand what's going on here and also that "...we will never miss them..." (>> 00:57 >>)
edit to correct 687 Riots: see link & hear about Big 4 @ 04:00 mins

Interesting science, though a bit difficult to decipher.
Things sure have changed in the Deutschland. Granted, Cannabis was in very short supply during my extended visit a few decades ago. Fortunately hashish was not and that's where we got our THC from. It was much more reasonable than the flowers also @ $1.50/gm or up to $900/kg. Most varieties were available with Afghan a personal favorite, also quite acceptable was Red or Blonde Lebanese. Occasionally connoisseur blends would appear though usually in much smaller quantities, like finger hash from India and Nepalese Hash Balls.
THC from ecoli? hey, to each his own...

Anybody familiar with an MRI could imagine the ridiculousness of this test. Anybody not that familiar: here is an overview. ...Imagine being strapped onto a sliding table that travels inside of huge donut about 4 ft in diameter yet the center is apx 24", with an IV stuck in your arm along with the requisite hoses. Along with ear plugs... Imagine too that in one hand you have a button to call for help and according to them another button to play a game where they might win 20￠. All this being overshadowed by the fairly loud clicking, buzzing, whirring of this quite intimidating machine while you are being given instructions by someone in another room (presumably for their own protection) to, "breath", "take a deep breath", "now hold your breath", ...sometimes for what seems like 30 seconds. Then finally, "OK breathe". Unless their is some other dire need for a 20 yo to be undergoing this procedure, I would not advise it. Not for 20￠, $5.00 or $50.00. ...$500.00, well...
Dunkin Donut...
Ironically, in light of Ann Arbors' reputation, my experience with Cannabis and the U of M hospital is that they are not very MJ friendly at all. Nor did they impress me with their knowledge or expertise of this remarkable herb. Even when asked to substitute an MJ derivative: Marinol for an opiod (ie: Norcos) including outright swapping after a major surgery, I heard every reason they have from they wouldn't/couldn't substitute one 'narcotic' for another to now your Cancer free and you can't have MJ anymore, yet that was not my qualifying condition, my QC was Hep-C. They would NOT condone or prescribe any form of Cannabis for me. Notwithstanding this was late 2009 , I was a carded Medical Cannabis patient and Cannabis was listed at the top of my Medication Chart.